META's Current Trends in Social Media and Stablecoins

The technology landscape is currently shaped by significant developments across artificial intelligence (AI), social media, and digital currencies. Companies are intensely focused on advancing their capabilities and navigating evolving regulatory environments.

In the AI domain, Meta Platforms (META) is aggressively expanding its AI talent pool, reportedly offering substantial bonuses, including $100 million packages, to developers from OpenAI (OPAI.PVT). This comes amidst Meta's efforts to enhance its own AI offerings, following reports of delayed AI model rollouts due to quality concerns and internal frustration regarding its standing in the AI race. Meta also announced a significant investment of $14.8 billion for a 49% stake in Scale AI, a startup specializing in data infrastructure for AI and large language models. This deal, Meta’s second-largest to date, brings Scale AI’s CEO, Alexandr Wang, onboard to lead Meta's new superintelligence unit. However, this acquisition has led to Google, a major client of Scale AI, severing ties with the company, and has drawn scrutiny from U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren regarding potential anti-competitive implications. Bank of America (BofA) recently raised its price target for Meta from $690 to $765, maintaining a "Buy" rating, citing easing macroeconomic uncertainties and optimism about Meta’s ability to monetize its platform through AI-assisted marketing and innovative ad strategies.

The social media sector is reacting to continued uncertainty surrounding the potential U.S. ban of TikTok. The White House has confirmed that President Trump will sign an executive order extending the deadline for TikTok’s divestiture or ban by another 90 days. This marks the third such extension, providing more time to finalize a deal for the ByteDance-owned platform. The ongoing ambiguity could potentially benefit competing social media platforms like Meta, Snap (SNAP), and Pinterest (PINS) by capturing advertising dollars and user engagement that might otherwise go to TikTok. Snap reported its community grew to 460 million daily active users, an increase of 38 million year-over-year in the most recent quarter, with Q1 revenue increasing by more than 10% to $1.36 billion, primarily driven by direct response advertising. Analysts suggest that continued uncertainty in the TikTok situation could positively impact social media companies as advertisers, creators, and users adapt.

In the cryptocurrency space, the Senate’s passage of the GENIUS stablecoin bill has sent stablecoin-related stocks, including Coinbase (COIN), Robinhood (HOOD), and Circle (CRCL), higher. This bill primarily mandates that stablecoin issuers adhere to regulations similar to those governing traditional financial institutions. This legislative step is a significant development for the crypto industry, with discussions around stablecoins intensifying as more companies, including major players like Walmart and Amazon, reportedly explore their own stablecoin strategies.